


time of getting

by Shyntax



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Parents, Christmas, Gen, Kids, M/M, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-23
Updated: 2013-12-23
Packaged: 2018-01-05 19:30:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1097756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shyntax/pseuds/Shyntax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Christmas time in the Matsuoka/Nanase household, and Sakura and Niji are eager to open their presents.</p>
            </blockquote>





	time of getting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sakura-rose12 (tumblr)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=sakura-rose12+%28tumblr%29).



> it's super quick and super shitty but i just wanted to get sakkun and niji out of my system before they killed me with their cute
> 
> for sakura-rose12 on tumblr! thank you for all the niji/saku i am _in love with you_ for it all

“Come on, Nii-chan, come on!”

“Saku, slow down. Papa said not to run.”

Rin chuckles as he hears his two sons coming down the stairs, the sound of their footsteps rebounding against the walls and making their way into the living room. He shifts in his chair and nudges Haruka, who had fallen asleep in his boyfriend’s lap after getting up early to greet the kids first thing in the morning. “Haru. They’re awake.”

“Five more minutes.” The raven-haired man says.

Rin doesn’t let up. “But they’re already up.”

Haruka turns and reaches to pull his blanket up higher. “Then make them go back to sleep.”

“Ha-ru-ka.” Rin stretches out each syllable, punctuating each with a movement to disturb Haruka’s attempt at slumber.

Haruka finally complies with a resigned sigh as he sits up just in time to see the first of the two boys come into the living room. Somehow even more lively and energetic than he usually is, Sakura greets his parents with a cheery grin. “Merry Christmas, Dad and Daddy!”

Rin and Haruka smile at Sakura. Rin beckons him closer to give him a hug. The redheaded boy happily comes forward into his shark-toothed father’s arms. “Merry Christmas, sport.”

Their older son steps in only a few seconds later. Niji is much calmer, but his joy is evident in his voice and the smile on his face. “Merry Christmas, Dad. Merry Christmas, Papa.”

Haruka waves Niji over and holds him in an embrace much like Rin’s and Sakura’s. “Merry Christmas.”

“Dad, Daddy, can we open our presents now?” Sakura asks, eyes shining in anticipation. Niji turns to look at his redheaded father with the same excited eyes, albeit in silence.

Rin laughs. “Sure, knock yourselves out.”

The boys break away from their fathers in favor of rushing towards the Christmas tree. Sakura immediately chooses to open his largest present, from Nagisa. Niji, noticing the tag, ( _To the cute Saku-chan! It was hard finding something as cute as you! Love, your Uncle Nagi-chan_ (´∀｀)) finds his present from Nagisa as well ( _To Niji-chan! A cool big brother needs something cool to match! Love, your Uncle Nagi-chan_ (´∀｀)). His present is just large as his little brother’s.

Sakura quickly unwraps the present, tossing the bright yellow wrapping paper aside (but keeping the tag) and lifting the lid of the box to find an enormous stuffed dolphin inside. “Whoa! It’s huge!”

Niji, who had received an identically-sized stuffed shark, stands the dolphin upright. “Sakura, stand up.” Sakura does as he is told, keeping his back straight and trying to make himself as tall as possible without going on his tippy-toes. Niji compares the sizes of the dolphin and his brother. “It’s at your shoulder.”

“No way!” Sakura exclaims. “Where did Uncle Nagi even buy something like this?”

“That’s what I want to know.” Haruka murmurs softly. Rin snickers, having heard his boyfriend’s comment.

“Man, I thought sharks and dolphins were _our_ thing…”

“Nii-chan, your turn to pick one!” Sakura says. Niji nods, selecting a small gift wrapped in green.

“Who’s that from, Niji?” Rin asks.

“Uncle Makoto.” Niji says, eyeing the tag. _To Niji-kun. Good luck in middle school! Love, Uncle Makoto._

“‘To Sakura-kun,’” Sakura begins, reading the tag on his own present out loud. It makes a rattling sound when he moves the box. “‘Don’t cause your big brother too much trouble, okay? Love, Uncle Makoto.’”

By the time the younger son is finished reading the tag, Niji has already taken his present out of the box. Haruka looks to his older son, delicately holding a shiny silver bracelet in his palm. There is a dolphin engraved into the metal disc, and when Niji opens it, a clock face lies underneath.

“How like him.” Haruka says. Niji nods absently, strapping the watch on and admiring how it looks on his wrist. Haruka turns to Sakura. “What did Makoto get you, Sakura?”

“It’s Connect Four!” The boy says, raising the box above his head to show his blue-eyed father. Ah, so Makoto somehow knows about Sakura’s recent desire to beat his brother in a game of Connect Four. When Rin had downloaded the game on his phone, Niji had beat his brother easily, prompting a request for a rematch. Niji won every time they played. The young boy has been begging his brother to play against him every time he can get his hands on Rin’s phone.

“God bless Makoto Tachibana.” Rin says. Although it’s cute seeing his two sons playing together, he’ll admit that it gets annoying searching all over the house for his phone for an hour only to find Sakura with it.

“Saku, it’s--” Niji attempts to let his brother know it’s his turn to choose a present, but cuts himself off after seeing that Sakura already has a burgundy-wrapped one in his hand. Niji instead decides to search for the matching present.

“To Sakkun! Keep working hard! Ask your Daddy to help you with butterfly. Blue suits you. Love, Auntie Kou!” Sakura reads.

“To Niji-kun. Congratulations on winning the meet the other day. Red looks best on you. Love, Auntie Kou.” Niji pauses for a second before speaking again. “P.S. You and Sakkun are very popular with the other members. Maybe these will help you make new friends. Winky face.”

Sakura and Niji unbox their presents at the same time, pulling out new swimsuits. Sakura’s speedo is bright blue to match his eyes. Niji’s jammers are dark red like his own. And knowing Kou, the suits are undoubtedly just a little bit more snug than their normal ones. Rin mumbles under his breath. “Oh, she totally would…”

“Well, she is their swim coach, after all.” Haruka states.

“...Papa, can we swim today?.” Niji asks. His eyes are locked onto the suit, intense gaze studying every curve in the fabric.

Rin can’t help but laugh. “Oh my god, he is not your son, he is actually _you_.”

“Dad, I’m serious, I want to swim today.”

This makes Haruka chuckle a little, too. “You can bathe in the bigger bathroom tonight, if you want.” Niji nods quickly, a sort of quiet enthusiasm that reminds the raven-haired man of himself when he was younger.

“Then, Uncle Rei’s are the last ones!” Sakura pulls out the remaining boxes from under the tree. After reading the tags ( _For Sakura-kun/Niji-kun. You will look absolutely beautiful. From Uncle Rei_ ), the flawless violet wrapping papers on the rectangular boxes are taken off within seconds. A clothing box is opened, and the boys pull out their gifts. Neither son says anything. It’s Rin who breaks the silence.

“...and we wondered where _Nagisa_ got his gifts.”

They’re swimsuits. Matching ones. And they’re probably the most hideous things they’ve ever seen. They’re absolutely grotesque, one-pieces with a single hole to go through only one arm. There is a thin strap that runs down the torso and a pocket for the crotch, but not the surrounding area. They are quite possibly the exact opposite of beautiful.

And they’re bad enough to bring even the stoic Haruka and Niji to their knees.

The two have crumpled to the floor in a shaking heap, gasping. They can’t even count it as laughing anymore, they’re snorting and guffawing, like they’re being tickled to death. The words they’re trying and failing to say are lost in the sounds of what sounds like dying.

“I-- I can’t, Re-- Rei, oh my-- _god!_ ”

“Pa-- Papa, I -- ow, _ow,_ I can’t--!! My si-- si-- sides hu--rt!”

Rin and Sakura are completely lost.

“Daddy, what do we do?”

“I, I don’t-- I don’t know! This hasn’t happened before!”

“Dad, Nii-chan, don’t die! Please don’t die, don’t die, you can’t, you just can’t!”

“Jesus Christ, Haruka, Niji, _breathe!!_ ”

* * *

“Hey, kiddos.” Rin says, standing in the doorway of Sakura’s and Niji’s shared room. Haruka is next to him.

“Hi, Daddy. Hi, Dad.” Sakura greets, sipping his hot chocolate.

Niji looks up from his watch, which he is trying to set. “Hello, Dad. Hello, Papa. What is it?”

“Well,” Rin begins. “We didn’t get the chance to give you these this morning, because of that whole...Rei episode.”

Haruka continues for him. “These are for you two, from us.” He brings out a single box from behind his back, wrapped in shiny silver. Rin does the same, but the box in his hand is covered in pink.

Niji and Sakura set down what is currently occupying their hands and hurry over to their fathers. Haruka hands the silver box to Niji, while Rin sets the pink box in Sakura’s palm. The two hesitate to open them. “Go ahead.” Rin coaxes. Haruka nods in encouragement.

The two boys look to each other, then to their gifts. They unwrap them slowly, unraveling the ribbon and carefully taking off the paper. Inside the small cardboard boxes are more boxes, sleek black ones that they’ve seen a couple times in the movies. Each son takes their second box into their hand and lifts the lid carefully.

Both are completely dazzled by what they see inside.

In both boxes is a single, thin silver ring with a gem set in the band. The jewel in Niji’s ring is, at first glance, crystal clear, but when the light hits the circular gem just so it gleams a stunning array of different colors. Sakura’s ring has a petal-shaped stone, colored a soft pink that makes it look very much like the real flower. On the back of the rings there are words engraved in the silver -- ‘Rainbow’ on Niji’s, ‘Blossom’ on Sakura’s.

“...do you like them?” Rin asks.

“We had them made specially for you two.” Haruka says.

The words linger in the air for a few seconds, a select few echoing in Niji’s and Sakura’s ears. _We. Special. You._ There is a brief moment of stillness between the four of them.

And all at once, the silence is broken.

Haruka and Rin don’t even see Niji and Sakura move. The two only feel when they are suddenly pulled by their sons. Niji and Sakura are holding the two of them together in one big family hug. “H-hey, what--”

Niji interrupts. “We love them.”

“We love _you_.” Sakura adds.

Rin and Haruka are speechless at first, alternating between looking at each other and looking down at their sons. It’s their turn to hear the words repeating themselves in their heads. When they finally settle in, the two men just melt. They wrap their arms around their sons in return, tightening the embrace and adding to the warmth in the circle. “We love you, too."

“Merry Christmas.”

**Author's Note:**

> the swimsuit rei got them is real and i fell over laughing when i saw it (http://www.chinatoday.com/entertain/new_swim_suit_for_men.htm)


End file.
